He pursued a degree in sports industry as an undergrad at Ohio University with his goal as a career in college sports. While earning the final credits in 2003 as an intern in the Boston College athletic department, Speidel came to a realization.

He talked with his supervisor and expressed an interest in youth sports, spurring his boss to suggest Speidel check out the YMCA. Speidel grew up playing basketball and other sports at YMCA facilities in his hometown of Richmond, Va.

“I hadn’t looked at anything about the Y in years and years and years,” Speidel, now 32, recalled. “I went on the Internet and was like, ‘holy cow.’ I started applying for Y jobs all over and ended up in Richmond just coincidentally.”

A lesson from Speidel: Sometimes you can go home again.

“I wasn’t trying to go back there,” he said. “I failed some interviews here and there because I was not prepared. I ended up in Richmond. Here I am 10 years later. It was definitely the right move. ... It’s just weird to come full circle.”

The circle expanded to Savannah in October 2009 when Speidel became executive director of the Southside YMCA, one of 10 branches in the YMCA of Coastal Georgia stretching from Effingham to Glynn counties.

“Tommy came to Savannah as a seasoned YMCA employee from Richmond,” said Diana Morrison, a Southside YMCA board member and former chairperson. “He brought fresh knowledge, good skills and a great attitude with him to really make a difference, not only in the YMCA, but our community as well.”

Speidel believes each Y branch is a little different because of its community and offerings. He has gained more than most, as he met his wife of nearly four years, Tricia, at a YMCA in Richmond.

The Southside Y on Mercy Boulevard rents the first floor of a building belonging to St. Joseph’s/Candler, where Tricia Speidel is a clinical dietitian. Programs on site include fitness, child care and teen- and senior-oriented activities. Athletic fields and other facilities are rented off-site at local churches and schools for sports such as soccer, flag football, cheerleading and basketball, as well as summer day camps.

“We’re a community partner in the fullest sense because we don’t own any of our space,” Tommy Speidel said. “It’s been a partnership since the beginning, since this Y was chartered in February 1999.”

Part community center, part recreation center, the Southside Y had 25,658 people register for its programs in 2012, including 14,715 for group exercise classes, according to Speidel.

“People will say this is like the hidden gem Y,” he said. “If you don’t want the chaos and you don’t need the pool and the gym at your disposal, you just want to work out and bring the kids, this is the place to come. It’s nice and quiet. It’s not intimidating.”

The YMCA has been a presence in Savannah since 1855, according to its literature, and the YMCA is the largest nonprofit in the country. The association isn’t just for the young, or men, or Christians.

“It’s just a place that’s welcoming to everybody, regardless of age, race, sex, skin color, the whole thing,” he said. “We’re open to all.”

The YMCA is based on paid memberships but financial assistance is available. The YMCA of Coastal Georgia started its annual fundraising campaign last month to support its programs.

Run free

One free program is Y Kids Run, an area-wide initiative created by Speidel and Robert Espinoza of Fleet Feet Sports Savannah to encourage children of elementary school age to be physically active. In its second year, the program starts in September as children log their mileage in monthly reports to the YMCA leading up to May 11, when there is a 1-mile run at Daffin Park.

“We need to get them going and keep exercising,” said Speidel, a recreational league basketball player and regular for 6 a.m. pickup games. “It’s another way to try to get kids more active these days, which is easier said than done.”

He said there might be as many as 400 children on the distribution list, with everything free and on a voluntary basis. Each YMCA branch offers something different, he said, but they all have the same goal.

“I try to provide the best facility, the best programming available to our community members,” Speidel said. “I try to make an impact, whether it’s through fitness, wellness, family programming, youth sports — that’s how I got connected to the Y.

“Everybody comes to the Y for a different reason,” he continued. “I want to provide everybody with a good experience to continue at the Y and come back. I know that it impacted my life. You hear all the stories about it impacting others. Some of my board members have been part of the Y for 30 or 40 years. I want to pay that forward in some capacity.”